Friday, December 4, 2009

A Wintry Word of Encouragement

A friend in Orlando, Virginia Knowles, knowing my love of the writings of Charles Spurgeon, emailed me this very timely and encouraging quote. I had to share it.

“Thou hast made summer and winter.” ~ Psalm 74:17

"My soul begin this wintry month with our God. The cold snows and the piercing winds all remind us that He keeps His covenant with day and night, and tend to assure us that He will also keep that glorious covenant which He has made with us in the person of Christ Jesus. He who is true to His Word in the revolutions of the seasons of this poor sin-polluted world, will not prove unfaithful in His dealings with His own well-beloved Son.

"Winter in the soul is by no means a comfortable season, and if it be upon you just now it will be very painful: but there is this comfort, namely, that the Lord
makes it. He sends the sharp blasts of adversity to nip the buds of expectation: He scatters the hard frost like ashes over the once verdant meadows of our joy: He casts forth His ice like morsels freezing the streams of our delight. He does it all, He is the great Winter King, and rules in the realms of frost, and therefore we cannot murmur. Losses, crosses, heaviness, sickness, poverty, and a thousand other ills, are of the Lord’s sending, and come to us with wise design. Frosts kill noxious insects, and put a stop to raging diseases; they break up the clods, and sweeten the soul. O that such good results would always follow our winters of affliction!

“How we prize the fireplace just now! How pleasant is its cheerful glow! Let us in the same manner prize our Lord, who is the constant source of warmth and comfort in every time of trouble. Let us draw nigh to Him, and in Him find joy and peace in believing. Let us wrap ourselves in the warm garments of His promises, and go forth to labors which befit the season, for it would be sad to be as the sluggard who will not plow by reason of the cold; for he shall beg in summer and have nothing.”

~ Charles H. Spurgeon

Thank you, Virginia. BTW, she writes a wonderful email newsletter to hundreds of families across the country, filled with insights, helpful tools, humor...even great ways to cut costs and save money. Check out her blog by clicking here.

Have a blessed day!

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